Liontrust has strengthened its European distribution network with the appointment of Òscar Andreu as managing director, head of distribution for Switzerland AG, enhancing its presence in the Swiss wholesale and institutional investment market.
Based in Zurich, Andreu will be responsible for distributing Liontrust’s Irish-domiciled Global Funds (GF) range, targeting pension funds, private and retail banks, wealth managers, independent asset managers, and unit-linked insurance businesses.
The GF range includes European long-only and long/short strategies managed by the Cashflow Solution team, the GF Global Alpha Long Short Fund led by Mark Hawtin and a selection of sustainable equity and fixed income funds, all classified under Article 9 of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.
To be classified as an Article 9 or “dark green” fund, investors must demonstrate that sustainability is a core objective of the fund’s investments. This requires making primarily sustainable investments and ensuring managers disclose how each investment meets environmental sustainability criteria.
Additionally, the range features three recently launched Global Innovation funds.
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Andreu joined Liontrust from Titanbay, where he led private markets expansion in Switzerland, Germany and Austria as head of the Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH region). Previously, he held senior roles at HSBC Global Asset Management, BlackRock, Fidelity Worldwide Investments and UBS Wealth Management, focusing on wholesale and institutional distribution.
John Ions, CEO of Liontrust, commented: “As the third largest funds market in Europe, having a distribution presence in Switzerland is a really important addition to our international expansion.
Òscar brings a wealth of experience and has a long-proven track record of distributing funds in Switzerland. His knowledge of and deep relationships with the institutional and wholesale markets will help enhance our profile, distribution and client service in the country.”
Andreu added: “I am excited about joining Liontrust and the opportunities to build our business in Switzerland. Liontrust has a very strong brand in the UK and impressive investment teams with good long-term performance. I believe distributors will have confidence in both the fund managers and their robust processes, as well as the client service Liontrust Switzerland AG will be able to provide.”
